Stock Up On The Booze, South Africa, The World Might Soon Face A Wine Drought 🍷

"If we can't produce enough wine, we will be in a crisis..."

With the festive season right around the corner, now may be the perfect time to stock up on booze, especially wine. This is because the amount of wine being produced in Europe is at a "historical low", according to HuffPost UK.

"If we can't produce enough wine, we will be in a crisis"Albert Nieuwoudt, farm manager

According to the director-general of the OIV, Jean-Marie Aurand, this drop is "consecutive to climate hazards", which affected the main producing countries, particularly in Europe.

This may ultimately have a snowball-effect on countries with large grape harvests, such as South Africa.

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man harvesting in vineyard

South Africa

The wine shortage in Europe might come as a blessing in disguise for South Africa's wine exports, but it could also be a Catch-22 as water restrictions in the Western Cape could ultimately affect wine production.

HuffPost SA spoke to Haskall Vineyards farm manager Albert Nieuwoudt about how the wine shortage in Europe could affect South Africa.

"We have enough water at the moment, our farms are quality producers; however, if the restrictions continue and we can't produce enough wine, we will be in a crisis," he said.

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Winery workers treading red wine

Experts expect to see an 8.2 percent annual decrease in the amount of wine produced globally by the end of 2017, with climate hazards cited as one of the main reasons.

In Cape Town, the City activated water rationing as part of the implementation of its Critical Water Shortages Management Disaster Plan. The City supplies sufficient water to the area, but if demand increases, those in high-lying areas will experience some outages.

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With the wine shortage in Europe, demand for wine production in South Africa will be high and, ultimately, local producers will not be able to meet the demand. This might also result in wine prices shooting through the roof.